Waqar appointed Pakistan coach

Waqar Younis replaces Intikhab Alam as the new coach of the Pakistan cricket team. He now becomes the 4th coach of Pakistan in the last three years and is expected to be in charge until December 2011.

Waqar, who lives in Sydney these days, is expected to arrive in Pakistan in a week. His first assignment will be to defend the T20 crown in the ICC T20 World Cup at the Carribean.

"I've signed on and agreed to the contract," Waqar told Cricinfo. "I'll be arriving in Lahore next week to begin my work."

PCB was considering a number of options for the top job but Waqar Younis emerged as the favorite among them.

"I'm absolutely honoured to take on the role and it is a very exciting challenge," Waqar said. "Hopefully I can deliver on the role. Cricket has given me a lot over the years and I want to give something back to cricket and country now. I've always played my cricket with passion and aggression and I want the team to play like that."

Waqar has worked twice as the bowling coach of Pakistan but has never been the head coach of any side till date.

Waqar believes that the lack of experience would not have any negative impact on him. "I'll probably have more control of various situations and have a say in more decisions. I really enjoyed my time as bowling coach, especially the first one under Bob. The last one was a little more difficult but I'm confident I can deliver. I learnt a lot from Bob during his time and I'm hoping I can put that to good use," he said.